Museum sights in Morocco
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Kasbah Museum
This museum is perfectly sited in Dar el-Makhzen, the former sultan’s palace (where Portuguese and British governors also lived) and has recently been completely redone. The new focus is on the history of the area from prehistoric times to the 19th century, most of it presented in seven rooms around a central courtyard. Placards are in French and Arabic, but English brochures are available. Some highlights are an enormous flint tool about the size of a human head; a crushed wine container with scenes of a bacchanalian feast (there must be something in the local water supply…); an extraordinary floor mosaic from Volubilis; and a fascinating wall map of trade routes past an…
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Musée Marocain
This ethnographic museum off Calle Garnata is worth a visit, if only for a peek inside the bastion in the town wall, where it is housed. Cannons are still in place in the garden, and the terrace is sometimes open, offering incredible views of the Rif Mountains. Unfortunately, the museum is frequently closed outside the summer months.
The museum contains the requisite collection of traditional clothing, musical instruments, antique jewellery, carpets, arms and household implements. Keep an eye out for the gold embroidered Jewish wedding robes with gold thread, and the highly elaborate iron doorknockers and keyhole covers. All of the captions are in French and Arabic.
To fin…
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Musée de la Fondation Lorin
Housed in a former synagogue, the Musée de la Fondation Lorin is a gem of a place if you're interested in Tangier's 20th-century history. A large peaceful room houses an engaging collection of photographs, newspaper cuttings and posters of Tangier from 1890 to the 1960s.The Moroccan and foreign great and good are all well represented, from Mohammed V and Winston Churchill to Caid McLean, Emily Keane and the artist James McBeay. There are some fascinating street scenes, and an early brochure from the El Minzah Hotel, advertising its tennis courts and boar hunting.
The foundation also holds exhibitions and classes for disadvantaged children from the area. You can see a dis…
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Museo de la Legión
This intriguing museum is dedicated to and run by the Spanish Legion, an army unit set up in 1920 that played a pivotal role in Franco’s republican army. Loaded to the gills with memorabilia, weaponry and uniforms, not to mention glory, pomp and circumstance, it is a fascinating glimpse into the military culture that shaped the north, from the imperious statue of Franco, to the explanation of how the legion’s intrepid founder, Millan Astray, lost his right eye, to the history of the legion in cinema. They even check your passport at the door. Alternatively, you can enlist at http://lalegion.es. There are guided tours in English.
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Dar Jamaï Museum
Since 1920 the palace Dar Jamaï has housed the Administration des Beaux Arts and one of Morocco’s best museum. Exhibits include traditional ceramics, jewellery, rugs and some fantastic textiles and embroidery. Look out for the brocaded saddles, and some exquisite examples of Meknasi needlework (including some extravagant gold and silver kaftans). The koubba (domed sanctuary) upstairs is furnished as a traditional salon complete with luxurious rugs and cushions. The museum also has a fine collection of antique carpets, representing various styles from different regions of Morocco.
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Musée de Marrakech
Elegantly restored into a museum in 1997 by the Omar Benjelloun Foundation, the Musée de Marrakech presents rotating traditional arts displays including Rabati embroidery, Moroccan Jewish artefacts and High Atlas carpets, plus the usual orientalist artwork in the original hammam. Occasional concerts in the grand courtyard are not to be missed, the courtyard café features tasty omelettes and intriguing contemporary Moroccan art, and the bookshop offers a small but superior selection of art books, maps and postcards.
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Jewish Museum
Set in a beautiful villa surrounded by lush gardens, this is Casablanca’s only museum and the only Jewish museum in the Islamic world. It relates the history of the once-thriving Jewish community and its influence on modern Moroccan society, with more than 1500 historical artefacts including documents, traditional clothing, ceremonial items and a vast collection of photographs. The museum is in the suburb of Oasis, a 15-minute taxi ride (Dh20) from the city centre.
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Batha Museum
Housed in a wonderful 19th century summer palace, converted to a museum in 1916, the Batha Museum houses an excellent collection of traditional Moroccan arts and crafts. Historical and artistic artefacts include fine woodcarving, zellij and sculpted plaster, much of it from the city’s ruined or decaying medersas. It also has some fine Fassi embroidery, colourful Berber carpets and antique instruments.
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Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah Museum
Essaouira’s beautifully refurbished museum in an old riad, has a small but interesting collection of jewellery, costumes, weapons, amazing musical instruments and carpets of the region. There’s a section explaining the signs and symbols used by local craftspeople and some interesting photographs of Essaouira at the turn of the century. Note also the Roman and Phoenician objects found in the bay.
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Musée du Patrimoine Amazigh
The small Musée du Patrimoine Amazigh has an excellent display of Berber artefacts, especially strong on jewellery. Inspired by Bert Flint, the Dutch owner of the Maison Tiskiwin in Marrakesh, this is a great place to learn about the traditional life and culture of the Berber people of the region. A free guided tour can be arranged on request (a tip is welcome).
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Museum of Science and Nature
This museum lies squirreled away in the government administrative buildings. The museum explains the history of the earth's geology but is most noted for the reconstructed skeleton of the giant dinosaur Atlasaurus imelakei (Giant Lizard of the Atlas) found in the High Atlas in 1979. The massive beast measured 15m long and roamed the earth 165 million years ago.
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Belghazi Museum
The private Belghazi Museum, owned by the family of the same name, contains a collection that almost rivals that of the Batha Museum. The 17th-century palace in which it is housed provides a perfect backdrop for the exquisite carpets, jewellery, weapons and wedding chests on display. Much of this stuff is actually for sale if the price is right.
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Musée d'Art Contemporain
Housed in the former British consulate, the Musée d'Art Contemporain displays examples of Moroccan art, mainly from the 1980s and early '90s. Given the Islamic injunction against figurative art, the paintings tend towards the abstract. Notable exhibits include the exuberant colours of Fatima Hassan, and the African styles of Mohammed Hamid.
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Nejjarine Square
This interesting square is dominated by the beautifully restored Nejjarine Wood Museum housed in an 18th-century funduq. There's also a superbly decorated wall fountain. Pause awhile in a café or browse the shops before venturing into the carpenters' souk with its amazing array of glitzy wedding chairs.
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Musée des Oudaia
The Kasbah des Oudaias, itself is a grand 17th-century affair built by Moulay Ismail, now houses the Musée des Oudaia - the national jewellery museum with a beautifully displayed and fascinating collection of prehistoric, Roman and Islamic jewellery found in the different regions of Morocco.
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Museo de Arqueología e Historia de Melilla
The small Museo de Arqueología e Historia de Melilla has a collection of historical and architectural drawings, Phoenician and Roman ceramics and coins, and numerous models and archaeological finds. The terrace alone is worth visiting for its fantastic views overlooking the city.
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Museo Militar
Near the Iglesia de la Concepción, the Museo Militar is perched high over the Mediterranean. Its two small rooms are stuffed full of exhibits from the Spanish military in Melilla: regimental flags, medals, a motley collection of weapons and the obligatory bust of Franco.
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Salle des Bronzes
You'll find ceramics, statuary and artefacts from the Roman settlements at Volubilis, Lixus and Chellah on display. Look out for the beautiful head of Juba II and the unforgiving realism of the bust of Cato the Younger - both found at Volubilis.
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Kasbah
The kasbah is a heavily restored walled fortress that now contains a lovely garden, a small Ethnographic Museum, and an even smaller Art Gallery.
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Museo de los Muralles Reales
A gallery that houses temporary art exhibitions. Squeezed out of the fort's unforgiving architecture, it's a beautifully designed space, worth visiting irrespective of what's on show.
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Earthquake Museum
In the southwest corner of Jardim de Olhão there's a small museum dedicated to the 1960 earthquake, and with some interesting photos of old Agadir.
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Museo de Ceuta
This ageing city museum has a small collection showing the peninsula’s pre-Spanish history, with all labels in Spanish.
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